acsess the importance of political parties in a democracy
Answers
Answer:
Political Parties
In our country, there are several political parties that stand for the election. The presence of the political party is actually a healthy situation for the nation. It gives people a choice to make a more evolved and effective decision. Moreover, it drives the other political parties to get better than their competitors to win elections and rule the nation. So, this is the basic backdrop of political parties. But what is a political party? Why do we need a political party? Let’s find out.
A political party basically, is a group of people. These people come together to contest elections in order to hold power in the government. It is a way to mobilize voters to support common sets of interests, concerns, and goals. The primary role of the political party is to fix the political agenda and policies. So, each party tries to persuade people by claiming their policies are better than those of other parties.
In a broader perspective, a political party is a means via which the people can speak to the government and have a say in the governance of any country. So, every political party must have three key components.
Every political party has a number of functions to perform. Here we have listed some of them.
A political party contests elections by putting up candidates.
In countries like the USA, the candidates are selected by members and supporters of a party.
On the other hand, in countries like India, the candidates are chosen by top party leaders.
Every party has different policies and programmes. Voters make a choice in accordance with the policies and programmes liked by them.
In a democratic country, a large group of people that has certain similar opinions group together and form a party. Then then, give a direction to the policies adopted by the government.
Those parties which lose elections form the opposition. They voice different views and criticise the government for their failures and mobilize opposition to the government.
Political parties shape public opinion. With the help of the pressure groups, the parties launch movements for solving problems faced by the people.
Parties even offer access to government machinery and welfare schemes. The local party leader serves as a link between the citizen and the government officer.
What is the concept of Federalism?.
A democracy cannot exist without the presence of a political party. This is clear from the function performed by the political parties. In case, there are no political parties then:
Every candidate in the election would be an independent candidate. Any individual candidate does not have the efficiency to promise any major policy change to the people. In such a scenario, no one will be responsible for how the country is run.
In the long run, only a representative democracy can survive. Political parties are the agencies that gather different views on various issues and present them to the government.
Party System.
ℎ ℎ :
One-Party System
Two-Party System
Multi-Party System
One-Party System
In a one-party system, there is no competition in this system. Here, the lone party nominates the candidates and the voters have only two choices i.e.
Not to vote at all or
write ‘yes’ or ‘no’ against the name of the candidates nominated by the party
Such a political system has been prominent in authoritarian regimes and communist countries such as China, North Korea, and Cuba. Before the collapse of communism, this system was also prevalent in USSR.
ℎ ℎ ?
Two-Party System
In a two-party system, the power shifts between two major, dominant parties. So, for winning the elections, the winner will have to get the maximum number of votes. However, please know that maximum number of votes is not equivalent to a majority of votes.
So, the smaller parties tend to merge with the bigger parties or they drop out of elections. Such a parliamentary system prevails in Canada and Great Britain, in which there are two parties holding the maximum numbers of seats.
Multi-Party System
The third and the most common form of government is the multi-party system. In such a system, there are three or more parties which have the capacity to gain control of the government separately or in a coalition.
In case, no party achieves a clear majority of the legislative seats, then several parties join forces and form a coalition government. Countries like India, follow a multi-party system. Some people are of the view, that a multi-party system often leads to political instability in a country.
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Answer:
A political party consists of a group of like-minded people who work together as a unit to influence the general public, context elections to gain control over the government.
Political parties are indispensable for the working of modern democratic governments. The importance of Political parties lies in the fact that democracies cannot function without the existence of political parties.
It makes the working of parliamentary government possible. A parliament consists of the representatives of the people. The political parties organize these representatives on party lines. The electorate chooses their representatives on the basis of their party affiliation.
Political Parties formulate public policies. Each political party fights the election to achieve its objectives incorporated in their political manifesto. Soon after the election the majority party forming the government seeks to formulate its policies of administration on the basis of promises made in the election manifesto. These policies are made keeping in mind the interest of general public.
Political parties educate Public opinion. Parties in any system of government educate, formulate and organize public opinion. They also help in the growth of the level of political consciousness of common citizens, who otherwise have no time to peruse and study issues of the state. The political parties in their effort to come closer to the people organize public rallies, meetings, press conferences on important issues and make their views clear. The common people is made aware of the economic, social, and political condition of the country. The general public is made aware of their voting rights. This provides the common people with an opportunity to analyze the pros and cons of various important issues. This process leads to organize and formulate public opinion on important issues.
Political parties provide political stability. The political parties in more than one way unite, simplify and stabilized the political process of the country. The destabilizing forces of localism, regionalism, section, interests and geographical situations are tackled by political parties by making these parts of their party ideology thus pacifying the disintegrating forces and inducing cohesion.
Conclusion: These are some of the functions of political parties which make them significant in modern democracy. Educated people can judge the working of political parties in a more rational manner. They are less likely to get trapped with false promises. If the voters are uneducated, political parties may mislead them to choose the wrong candidate. The parties behave responsibly in states where the people in general are well educated and politically conscious. This is evident from the working of political parties in western countries, where the political culture is easily discernible than the non-European countries.